In a public place, for example, usage of mobile terminals such as portable phones, UMPCs (Ultra Mobile PCs) or PDAs may be limited by regulations . For example, setting portable phones to the manner mode is required in trains, and turning off portable phones is required around priority seats in a train. In addition, in order to prevent money transfer due to fraud for example, usage of portable phones is discouraged around automated teller machines.
Meanwhile, portable phones now have advanced and more functions, and may have multiple operation modes. For example, operation modes of portable phones include a normal operation mode, a normal manner mode, a silent mode, an original manner mode, a drive mode, a public mode, a self mode, and a radio wave off mode, etc.
A portable phone has a plurality of communication standby modes for which alarming operations by alarming means are set, and has area detection means, mode switching signal reception means and mode setting means . The area detection means detects whether or not the portable phone exists in a mode specification area for which one of the plurality of communication standby modes is designated. The mode switching signal reception means receives a radio wave signal input from outside when existence within the mode specification area is detected, and extracts a mode switching signal to switch the communication standby modes from the radio wave signal. The mode setting means performs setting to one of the plurality of communication standby modes according to the extracted mode switching signal. Therefore, by receiving the radio wave signal, the portable phone may set the communication standby mode according to the mode switching signal included in the radio wave signal.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-332804
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-45102
In a system in which the portable phone described above is used, it would be required that an information transmission device such as an RF ID tag and the like is placed to send notification of the specified operation mode in each area within the reach of the RF signal, and regular maintenance and check is performed for such an information transmission device. In addition, there is a need to secure and maintain reliability of the information transmission device, and placement of a fake information processing apparatus by a malicious party would have to be avoided.